A list of horror films released in the 1940s. After the success of Son of Frankenstein (1939), Universal horror caught a second wind and horror films would continue to be produced at a feverish pace into the mid-1940s. The early '40s would see the debut of Lon Chaney Jr. and the "The Wolf Man", both of which would go on to become fixtures in the Universal landscape. Meanwhile, Dracula and Frankenstein's monster would appear in numerous sequels, often together in what would colloquially be referred to as "monster rally" films.
Hoping to present a viable alternative to the Universal juggernaut, RKO decided to embark on a series of its own horror films, starting with Cat People in 1942. Led by producer Val Lewton and director Jacques Tourneur, this critically acclaimed series would focus less on visible horrors and more on the psychological aspects of fear.
| Title | Director | Cast | Country | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940 | ||||||
| The Ape | William Nigh | Boris Karloff, Maris Wrixon | ||||
| Before I Hang | Nick Grinde | Boris Karloff, Evelyn Keyes, Bruce Bennett | ||||
| Black Friday | Arthur Lubin | Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Stanley Ridges | ||||
| The Devil Bat | Jean Yarbrough | Bela Lugosi, Suzanne Kaaren, Dave O'Brien | ||||
| The Door with Seven Locks | Norman Lee | Leslie Banks, Lilli Palmer, Romilly Lunge | ||||
| Dr. Cyclops | Ernest B. Schoedsack | Albert Dekker, Thomas Coley, Janice Logan | ||||
| The Ghost Breakers | George Marshall | Bob Hope, Paulette Goddard, Richard Carlson | ||||
| The Invisible Man Returns | Joe May | Cedric Hardwicke, Vincent Price, Nan Grey | ||||
| The Mummy's Hand | William Christy Cabanne | Dick Foran, Peggy Moran, Wallace Ford | ||||
| Son of Ingagi | Richard Kahn | Zack Williams, Laura Bowman, Spencer Williams | ||||
| You'll Find Out | David Butler | Kay Kyser, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi | ||||
| 1941 | ||||||
| The Black Cat | Albert Rogell | Basil Rathbone, Hugh Herbert, Broderick Crawford, Bela Lugosi, Gale Sondergaard | ||||
| The Devil Commands | Edward Dmytryk | Boris Karloff, Richard Fiske, Amanda Duff | ||||
| Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde | Victor Fleming | Spencer Tracy, Ingrid Bergman, Lana Turner | ||||
| Horror Island | George Waggner | Dick Foran, Leo Carrillo, Peggy Moran | ||||
| Invisible Ghost | Joseph H. Lewis | Bela Lugosi, Polly Ann Young, John McGuire | ||||
| King of the Zombies | Jean Yarbrough | Joan Woodbury, Dick Purcell, Mantan Moreland | ||||
| The Mad Doctor of Market Street | Joseph H. Lewis | Una Merkel, Lionel Atwill, Nat Pendleton | ||||
| Man Made Monster | George Waggner | Lionel Atwill, Lon Chaney, Jr., Anne Nagel | ||||
| The Monster and the Girl | Stuart Heisler | Ellen Drew, Robert Paige, Paul Lukas | ||||
| Spooks Run Wild | Phil Rosen | Bela Lugosi, Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan | ||||
| The Wolf Man | George Waggner | Lon Chaney, Jr., Warren William, Claude Rains, Ralph Bellamy, Evelyn Ankers | ||||
| 1942 | ||||||
| The Boogie Man Will Get You | Lew Landers | Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre, Jeff Donnell | ||||
| Cat People | Jacques Tourneur | Simone Simon, Kent Smith, Tom Conway, Jane Randolph | ||||
| The Corpse Vanishes | Wallace W. Fox | Bela Lugosi, Luana Walters, Tristram Coffin | ||||
| Dr. Renault's Secret | Harry Lachman | J. Carrol Naish, John Shepperd, Lynne Roberts, George Zucco | ||||
| The Ghost of Frankenstein | Erle C. Kenton | Lon Chaney, Jr., Cedric Hardwicke, Ralph Bellamy, Lionel Atwill, Bela Lugosi | ||||
| The Mad Monster | Sam Newfield | Johnny Downs, George Zucco, Anne Nagel | ||||
| The Mummy's Tomb | Harold Young | Lon Chaney, Jr., Dick Foran, Elyse Knox, Turhan Bey | ||||
| Night Monster | Ford I. Beebe | Bela Lugosi, Lionel Atwill, Irene Hervey, Ralph Morgan | ||||
| The Undying Monster | John Brahm | James Ellison, Heather Angel, John Howard, Bramwell Fletcher | ||||
| 1943 | ||||||
| The Ape Man | William Beaudine | Bela Lugosi, Wallace Ford, Louise Currie, Minerva Urecal | ||||
| Captive Wild Woman | Edward Dmytryk | Evelyn Ankers, Acquanetta, John Carradine | ||||
| Carnival of Sinners | Maurice Tourneur | Antoine Balpêtré, Pierre Fresnay, André Bacque | ||||
| Dead Men Walk | Sam Newfield | George Zucco, Mary Carlisle, Ned Young, Dwight Frye | ||||
| Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man | Roy William Neill | Lon Chaney, Jr., Ilona Massey, Patric Knowles, Lionel Atwill, Bela Lugosi | ||||
| I Walked with a Zombie | Jacques Tourneur | Tom Conway, Frances Dee, James Ellison, Edith Barrett | ||||
| The Mad Ghoul | James Hogan | David Bruce, Evelyn Ankers, George Zucco, Robert Armstrong | ||||
| The Mysterious Doctor | Ben Stoloff | John Loder, Eleanor Parker, Lester Matthews | ||||
| Revenge of the Zombies | Steve Sekely | John Carradine, Robert Lowery, Gale Storm, Veda Ann Borg | ||||
| The Seventh Victim | Mark Robson | Kim Hunter, Tom Conway, Isabel Jewell | ||||
| Son of Dracula | Robert Siodmak | Lon Chaney, Jr., Robert Paige, Louise Allbritton, Evelyn Ankers | ||||
| 1944 | ||||||
| The Climax | George Waggner | Boris Karloff, Susanna Foster, Turhan Bey | ||||
| Crazy Knights | William Beaudine | Billy Gilbert, Maxie Rosenbloom, Shemp Howard | ||||
| Cry of the Werewolf | Henry Levin | Nina Foch, Stephen Crane, Osa Massen | ||||
| The Ghost Catchers | Edward F. Cline | Ole Olsen, Chic Johnson, Gloria Jean | ||||
| House of Frankenstein | Erle C. Kenton | Boris Karloff, J. Carrol Naish, Lon Chaney, Jr., John Carradine | ||||
| Jungle Woman | Reginald Le Borg | Evelyn Ankers, J. Carrol Naish, Samuel S. Hinds | ||||
| The Lady and the Monster | George Sherman | Vera Ralston, Richard Arlen, Mary Nash, Sidney Blackmer | ||||
| The Man in Half Moon Street | Ralph Murphy | Nils Asther, Helen Walker | ||||
| The Monster Maker | Sam Newfield | J. Carrol Naish, Ralph Morgan, Tala Birell | ||||
| The Mummy's Curse | Leslie Goodwins | Lon Chaney, Jr., Peter Coe, Virginia Christine | ||||
| The Mummy's Ghost | Reginald Le Borg | Lon Chaney, Jr., John Carradine, Ramsay Ames, Robert Lowery | ||||
| Return of the Ape Man | Phil Rosen | Bela Lugosi, John Carradine, George Zucco | ||||
| The Return of the Vampire | Lew Landers | Bela Lugosi, Frieda Inescort, Nina Foch, Roland Varno | ||||
| The Tower of the Seven Hunchbacks | Edgar Neville | Antonio Casal, Isabel de Pomés | ||||
| The Uninvited | Lewis Allen | Ray Milland, Gail Russell, Ruth Hussey | ||||
| Voodoo Man | William Beaudine | Bela Lugosi, John Carradine, George Zucco | ||||
| Weird Woman | Reginald Le Borg | Lon Chaney, Jr., Anne Gwynne, Evelyn Ankers | ||||
| 1945 | ||||||
| Dead of Night | Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden, Robert Hamer | Mervyn Johns, Michael Redgrave, Sally Ann Howes, Mary Merrall | ||||
| Fog Island | Terry O. Morse | George Zucco, Lionel Atwill, Jerome Cowan | ||||
| House of Dracula | Erle C. Kenton | Lon Chaney, Jr., John Carradine, Martha O'Driscoll, Lionel Atwill | ||||
| Isle of the Dead | Mark Robson | Boris Karloff, Ellen Drew, Marc Cramer, Katherine Emery | ||||
| Jungle Captive | Harold Young | Otto Kruger, Amelita Ward, Phil Brown | ||||
| The Picture of Dorian Gray | Albert Lewin | George Sanders, Hurd Hatfield, Donna Reed | Supernatural horror film | |||
| The Vampire's Ghost | Lesley Selander | John Abbott, Charles Gordon, Peggy Stewart | ||||
| Zombies on Broadway | Gordon M. Douglas | Alan Carney, Bela Lugosi, Wally Brown | ||||
| 1946 | ||||||
| The Beast with Five Fingers | Robert Florey | Robert Alda, Andrea King, Peter Lorre | ||||
| The Cat Creeps | Erle C. Kenton | Fred Brady, Lois Collier, Paul Kelly | ||||
| The Catman of Paris | Lesley Selander | Carl Esmond, Lenore Aubert, Adele Mara | ||||
| The Devil Bat's Daughter | Frank Wisbar | Rosemary La Planche, John James, Michael Hale | ||||
| The Face of Marble | William Beaudine | John Carradine, Claudia Drake, Robert Shayne | ||||
| The Flying Serpent | Sherman Scott | George Zucco, Ralph Lewis, Hope Kramer | ||||
| House of Horrors | Jean Yarbrough | Robert Lowery, Martin Kosleck, Rondo Hatton | ||||
| The Mask of Diijon | Lew Landers | Erich Von Stroheim, Jeanne Bates, William Wright | ||||
| She-Wolf of London | Jean Yarbrough | Don Porter, June Lockhart, Sara Haden | ||||
| The Spider Woman Strikes Back | Arthur Lubin | Brenda Joyce, Gale Sondergaard, Kirby Grant | ||||
| Strangler of the Swamp | Frank Wisbar | Rosemary La Planche, Robert Barrat, Blake Edwards | ||||
| Valley of the Zombies | Philip Ford | Robert Livingston, Adrian Booth, Ian Keith | ||||
| 1948 | ||||||
| Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein | Charles Barton | Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Lon Chaney, Jr. | Horror comedy | |||
| The Creeper | Jean Yarbrough | Eduardo Ciannelli, Onslow Stevens, June Vincent | ||||
| 1949 | ||||||
| New Version of the Ghost of Yotsuya | Keisuke Kinoshita | Kinuyo Tanaka, Ken Uehara, Hisako Yamane | ||||
Famous quotes containing the words list of, list, horror and/or films:
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Went down the list of the dead.
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“Hey, you dress up our town very nicely. You don’t look out the Chamber of Commerce is going to list you in their publicity with the local attractions.”
—Robert M. Fresco, and Jack Arnold. Dr. Matt Hastings (John Agar)
“How often you, spurned, will run to my door, when your strong words shall have fallen into a sob, and a trembling horror will begin from your sad tears.”
—Propertius Sextus (c. 50–16 B.C.)
“Right now I think censorship is necessary; the things they’re doing and saying in films right now just shouldn’t be allowed. There’s no dignity anymore and I think that’s very important.”
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